The Sword
by anincandescentwriter
Summary: Present day Arthur is finds himself in a field with hundreds of other tourists waiting their turn to pull the sword in the stone. Modern Day. Reincarnation. Two-Shot


**A/N: I have a two shot story. Well, for now it is a two shot. I have been thinking about doing something like this for awhile, but I only sat down and wrote this just now. And I wanted to publish it. I couldn't wait. So, because of that. It is not edited. It is not my best work. I understand that. So constructive criticism is appreciated. Depending on when I have time, the next part will be up in a few days. **

Arthur stood in the large clearing with the rest of his classmates. It was hot and crowded and Arthur was ready to go home. He was tired of hearing about old, dead people. No one cared about them anymore. It was the past. Arthur wanted to live in the present. But no, here he stood, with his class, looking at a rock. Well a sword in the rock, but that was beside the point.

His whole life all he heard about the sword in the stone, that some hikers discovered it not an hour away from the city nineteen years ago. Arthurs' mum said that is appeared shortly after he was born. She said it was a sign, that he was destined to do great things.

People from all over the world bought into it. They would come in the dozens, trying and trying to pull the sword from the stone, but it wouldn't budge. The government even put in a 24 hour security camera, so that if someone were to ever actually pull it out, then it would be captured for the whole world to see. And to make sure they didn't cheat.

But Arthur had had enough of it. He only took the mythology class because it would annoy his father who thought that stuff was childish. They had only finished up the Arthurian Legends yesterday, and Mr. Turner, the teacher, wanted to take a trip out to the sword.

"It will be an experience. Besides, maybe one of you will pull the sword out." Mr. Turner told the class yesterday.

But no one expected a million people to be in the clearing. Well, maybe that is an exaggeration. But it is really crowded, more than normal. Arthur stood with his friends. They were just as thrilled to be there as he was. Only Garret showed any interest in being there.

"Come on guys. Let's just stand in line. It won't hurt anything." He said excitedly.

"Yeah, nothing except my pride." Arthur said.

"It's not like we expect you to pull it out." Eli said. Garret walked over to the line and Eli and Arthur followed. Arthur stood, scanning the crowd, tuning out the noise, when he caught a glimpse of ruffled, black hair. Hair that seemed really familiar. It was like he knew it from somewhere, but the word was stuck on his tongue. Losing sight of the head, Arthur tried to forget.

"Is that your sister?" Garret said, pointing to someone in the crowd. Arthur looked up, expecting to see long, curly black hair and a smirking face, but no, it was just Gwen, Eli's sister. A rush of happiness ran through his body.

"What is she doing here?" Arthur asked.

"Don't act all upset." Eli said. "I invited her. Thought maybe we could all go get lunch somewhere when we are done." Arthur nodded, excited that he got to see Gwen. Hopefully today would turn out to be worthwhile. It was hard, fancying Gwen. He wasn't supposed to. She was his best friends sister. Sisters' were off limits. But damn. Arthur really liked her.

They drew closer to the stone as the line grew shorter. When they neared the stone, a worker stood near, supervising the crowd.

"Remember, you get three tries. No more. Once you are done, more on. I don't want any trouble." The guy said. He spun around to face Arthur and his friends. "Did you guys here that?" Arthur felt a rush of annoyance. Who was this guy, thinking that they were going to be the ones causing trouble?

"Yes. We heard. So sorry that we look like delinquents." Arthur said sarcastically. "What gives you the right to judge us…" Arthur paused, looking for a nametag. "Leon?" The blonde haired man shook his head.

"Hey. No need to get defensive. I give the same speech to everybody." Still feeling annoyed, Arthur decided to ignore him. It was better than getting into a fight and then having to face the consequences.

"Do you ever feel like you are missing something in your life?" Eli asked suddenly.

"Alcohol?" Garret asked.

"No. You have that every night. I mean, something else. Like you have forgotten something." Eli explained. Arthur was confused. What brought this on?

"Why do you ask?" Arthur asked. Eli's eyes bunched together, like he was trying to think of something.

"Don't you feel it here? I feel like I have forgotten something important, but I didn't realize I did until we arrived here this morning." Arthur concentrated, trying to think of what Eli could be talking about. At first, he didn't feel anything, just the hot, sticky air. But then, he did. And it was very frustrating. The raven hair head came back to him. He knew that head from somewhere. But where?

"Yes." Arthur answered quietly. They reached the stone. It was a lot more massive in person, than in pictures.

"Wow." Garret whistled. Eli stood there with his mouth hanging open. Arthur stared. It was very familiar looking.

"You go first." Arthur whispered to Garret.

"No. You go." He said.

"I don't want to."

"Fine. I will go." Eli stepped up, wrapped his hands around the hilt of the sparkling sword and pulled. Nothing. Nada. The sword did not budge. He took his hands off, wiped then on his pants and tried again. The sword was stuck in the stone. Eli stepped down and shrugged.

"It wasn't like I was expecting anything to happen." He said. Arthur nudged Garret.

"You go. You were the most excited." Garret walked up and grabbed the hilt. With no hesitation, he pulled. And pulled. And pulled.

"I don't think it's going anywhere, mate." Arthur called.

"Whatever." Garret said, but he seemed sad. It was Arthur's turn. As he walked up, he remembered from class what it was called in the legends. Excalibur. King Arthur's sword. The sword that could kill anything. For some reason, Arthur wasn't as skeptic as he usually was. Instead, he was filled with a feeling of belonging. He grabbed the hilt. It was cool to the touch, despite being in the hot sun all the time. This was it, Arthur thought. He was going to be the one to pull it out. Perhaps the legends were true. There was no evidence to say otherwise, other than magic existing apparently. He wrapped his other hand around his own and pulled. He thought he felt the sword budge and Arthur grew hopeful. But the sword was stuck still.

With a feeling of disgust, Arthur let go. Of course the legends weren't real. That's the whole reason why they are legends. He grabbed the sword in anger and pulled. It didn't give way. This whole place was a joke. The whole story was. King Arthur didn't exist. Merlin didn't exist. The round table didn't exist. It was just a story told so the real king would be a fair one.

Arthur turned his back on the stone and was about to let the others have their turn. But when he did, he finally got a full glimpse of raven hair. The boy was skinny, tall, and very, very familiar. But Arthur was sure that he had never met the man in his entire life. His mind was racing, however. It was like his body had been struck by lightning. A whisper ran through his head. _You have to believe. I believe in you. Everyone believes in you_. Arthur had no doubt that it was words from the man. With determination, Arthur spun around, grabbed the hilt with one hand, and pulled.

The sword came free.

**A/N: It feels rushed. When I have more time, I really plan to go through and add details and make it better. Sorry for the poor quality. **

**Oh. I NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE READ! **

**I am having difficulties picking a college. I need ideas. If you have a good college, in the United States please, let me know. Thanks. **


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